Obituary of Peter Charles Bartley

BARTLEY, Peter Charles Peter put the silver in 'silver lining'. He was a family man, entrepreneur, Australian and Canadian army reservist, waterskier, hunter, handyman, and woodworker. He died an octogenarian on Friday the 3rd of May, 2019. He will be missed and prayed for by his wife Mary, his family, and his friends. Peter, son of Charles Henry Bartley and Jean Sylvia Bartley (née Lynch), was the husband of Mary Therese Bartley, née Healy. He was the father of Gabriel Marie Davids, née Bartley (Gregory Edward Davids), Andrew Mark Bartley (Corinne Christine Walsh), Justin Peter Bartley, and Rev. Ross Michael Bartley. He was the grandfather of Rin Clare Bartley, and the late Teresa Marie Bartley. He was the brother of the late Kevin Francis Bartley (Dawn Margaret Bartley, née Thurkett), and Irene Elizabeth Batini, née Bartley (Francis Edward Batini). Peter was born in Perth Western Australia on the 16th of January, 1939. He was educated at Christian Brothers College in Perth from 1948 until 1956, followed by studies at the University of Western Australia. He later qualified as a radiotherapy technician and worked at Royal Perth Hospital in Western Australia until 1964. Having met in 1959 at a Young Christian Workers dance at St. Benedict's Parish in Applecross, W.A., Peter and Mary married at St. Kieran's Parish, Osborne Park, W.A., in 1964. They left Australia for a two-year working holiday and have lived in Canada ever since. They have lived fully and lovingly their vocation as spouses, parents and grandparents, attending concerts, camps, and convocations, hosting parties and excursions, teaching driving, handiwork, maths, and taxes, and showing their kids the world, from the sunburnt country down under to the snowy country we now call home. Peter worked at the Ontario Cancer Foundation in London Ontario from 1965 to 1968. In 1969, Peter and Mary established a family business, Bartley Silver Company Inc., which thrived for five decades. BSC served hospitals and clinics throughout southern Ontario, recovering silver from X-Ray chemicals and products using an electrolytic process. In 1958, Peter started his five-year compulsory military training, part of National Service in Australia, and served part-time for nine years in the Australian Army. Afterwards, he joined the Canadian Army Reserve and remained with the Canadian Forces, rising to the rank of captain. For his years of service to the Queen, he earned the Canadian Forces' Decoration (CD). He was the last President of the London United Services Institute (LUSI) in 1998, and the first President of the Royal London Military Institute (RLMI) in 1999. Peter died peacefully in London Ontario after three months at Victoria Hospital, and two weeks on the Palliative Care Unit at Parkwood Institute. He was thankful for the Canadian health care system, and grateful for the compassionate care he received. Friends are invited to gather at St. John the Divine Catholic Parish, 390 Base Line Road West, in London, Ontario, on Thursday the 9th of May, 2019. We will begin with visitation in the narthex at 11 a.m. and offer the Funeral Mass at noon. Lunch, and a eulogy by Andrew, will be in the parish hall immediately after Mass. Later that afternoon, the interment will be in the family plot in the St. Leonard's Section of St. Peter's Cemetery, accessed via the gate on the west side of Barker Street, between Victoria and Huron Streets, London. Thank you for your prayer for Peter, and for your prayer, consolation, and good wishes for our family. Donations are welcome in memory of Peter to St. John the Divine Catholic Parish in London, or to Parkwood Palliative Care Program, or to the charity of your choice.